[SDI-Africa] analysis of current flooding in Mozambique

[Kate Lance]

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14678
Seasonal floods begin early in southern Africa
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the left image of flooding in Mozambique on January 4, 2008. The heavy rains that normally come later in the rainy season began in December 2007, leading to early floods. The extent of the floods around the city of Beira can be seen by comparing the flood scene with the image on the right, which was taken by the same sensor on November 22, 2007, before the intense rains started.
The early floods forced the evacuation of 13,000 people throughout Mozambique, reported the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on January 7. Neighboring Zimbabwe and Zambia were also flooded as heavy rain inundated the Zambezi river basin. The United Nations reported concern that the early floods could be a precursor to more substantial flooding later in the rainy season.

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~floods/images/2007235BuziPungue.jpg
Mozambique Rapid Response Inundation Map, Dartmouth Flood Observatory (Anderson, E. and Brakenridge, G.R., 2007, December 16)

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/E168C8BE85E65863852573CC0070F43C/$File/unosat_FL_moz080110-a.pdf?OpenElement
Estimated total rainfall accumulation for Northern Mozambique (9 December 2007 to 9 January 2008)
This rainfall estimate was derived from the Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission (TRMM) satellite precipitation dataset at a spatial resolution of approximately 25km for this region. Mean and maximum rainfall estimates have been estimated for each administrative province, as well as for the main river basins. It is possible that precipitation levels may have been underestimated for local areas, and is not a substitute for ground station measurements. This is a preliminary analysis and has not yet been validated in the field. 

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/D8D3E44EF91DC98A852573CC004E3011/$File/unosat_FL_moz0801010.pdf?OpenElement
Flood Waters over the affected Districts of Caia and Mutarara, Sofala and Tete Provinces, Mozambique (as of 10 Jan 2008)


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